When your potatoes sprout beady little eyes that stare at you in judgy condemnation, you accept your guilt and toss them. Same goes for the mushy avocado, floppy carrots, and half-bag of lettuce that went slimy—again. It happens every day. Literally. American households toss close to one-third of the food they buy, and produce makes up the biggest piece of that pie, accounting for more than 27% of the vittles U.S. homes send to the trash heap, according to ReFED, a national nonprofit focused on food waste solutions.
All that chucked grub is a major source of planet-warming gasses, particularly methane, which is why tossing less food is the one of the top two actions everyday folks can do to address the climate crisis. It’s also why we crammed our best produce-saving know-how into a single handy chart.
Keeping fresh fruits and veggies out of the bin often boils down to knowing the ideal way to store, wash, and preserve ‘em. Moisture and microbes are the big baddies here, because they’re both drivers of food spoilage. Plus there’s also ethylene, a ripening gas that some fruit and veg give off and others are sensitive to—causing them to go from ripe to rotten before you can say “slimy scallions.” That’s why it’s best to keep the emitters away from the producers, which, yes, can get complicated.
You’ll find all the best practices organized for you in this printable cheat sheet: what to separate, when to wash, how to store and freeze, and even our favorite “oh crap, those berries are about to go” ideas for salvaging vittles even at the last second.
